Scrap organization....
 

I've been a good girl for the past few days and have been organizing and loading all my fabric from the plastic bags, hiding places and such.

I've even taken an old pillowcase and started filling it with small scraps so I can sew it closed and take it to the vet's office to use as bedding.

Here's my question......how's the best way to store the larger scraps? Do you lay them flat in a tub? Do you fold them up and put them in something? I've got pieces that aren't quite the size of fat quarters or fat quarters that might have some fussy cut pieces out of them.

Any suggestions would be great!!! Thanks!

I group them by color in zip lock bags and put them in a plastic tub labeled scrap pieces. It is easy to go through them when I want a particular color. Those that don't seem to be any particular color or mixture of colors go in a bag with like pieces.

I put all my scraps in plastic storage containers that fit on book shelves. I put like colors together. That way if I want a certain color I just take the storage container to my table or sit in an easy chair and root through till I find what I want. You could stack the containers if you don't have a book shelf to use. I do put the flannels in their own container...all colors mixed... as I don't usually have a lot of flannels.

What I have done is fold them and put them in the stack of that color. If I have a large piece I just put the piece in the centre of the fold.

This is how my room is organized..

These are in 30 gal tubs no matter what size pieces they are:
Holiday- each holiday (xmas, 4th, halloweenie, easter, etc) have its own tub
Flannel
Vintage fabric (35in xWOF)- all goes in one tub
Authentic 30's feedsacks

All my Bolts (3+yards) are on the bookcase and in walk in closet.
All my 1-2 yards cuts are ruler folded, then separated by theme (floral, kids prints, Asian, etc) and solids, blenders, and the rest are separated by color on bookcases

Batiks are in a see thru sterilite three drawer separated by light med dark..
Fqs are separated by color, floral, novelty in it's own sections on wall cd racks, closet maid 24/36 bin shoe organizers.. Each area has its own 'theme' so i can find what I'm looking for.

My scraps are in specific see- thru bins, tubs and drawers depending on size..

Each Accuquilt Die cut shapes have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own- I do have most if not all the dies already.. lol..
strips less than10 inches but longer than 5 inches of has a a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
Strips longer than 10 inches but less than WOF has a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
2 inch strips are hanging on the back of the door
1.5 x wof has a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
2.5 x WOF strips has a a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
3x WOF strips have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
5x WOF strips have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
all other strips x WOF are separated by colors and has a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
Crumbs have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
Scraps less than a fq but larger than 6x6 has a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own- these are waiting to be cut with my Accuquilt
2 in sq have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
2.5 in sq have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
3 in sq have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
3.5 in sq have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own

4 in sq have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
4.5 in sq have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
5 in sq have a see thru sterilite drawer all of its own
Selvages are in a clear shoe tote on my cutting table
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(1930's in shoe cubbies)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]327362[/ATTACH]
(some of my sterilite drawers- ignore mess plz.. :thumbup:)

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(a couple of bookcases- again, plz ignore mess)


And that's how my room is organized..

I followed Bonnies method.. www.quiltville.com.

One of my friends love piecing miniatures. She gets all my scraps less than a quarter. I love seeing what she does with them and am sometimes even the recipient of some of them...win/win. :)

I like Bonnie Hunter's recommendation to cut 10.5" squares for backing from larger pieces. You could then cut the scraps into usable strips, squares, and strings. I mostly piece scrappy tops and like to order one yard lengths from Thousands of Bolts. This gives me plenty for strips, squares, and backing blocks.

I don't have many scraps, at least compared to some. When I'm done cutting for a project, I take any pieces smaller than a fat eight and cut them down into 2.5" squares for 2 scrappy projects I have planned. The "crumbs" and strings that I can't get 2.5" squares from go into my crumb boxes- I have 3 plastic shoe boxes, 1 for each color pallette- "drabs", brights, and modern/fresh colors. From these I make 3.5" crumb blocks using quiltville's tutorial- I try to do this regulary so the boxes don't get too full. Larger pieces get folded up and into my "assorted" stash- I collect random yardage and sort them into "rainbows" by different "moods" or genres. These are separate from any fabric lines and precuts I've collected. One of these days I'll take pictures of my stash to share, I love looking at other people's stash, neat or messy, it makes me happy (and I confess I like the messy ones better, makes me want to come over and play... I'll fold your fabric for you ;) )

I too like the "shoe cubicles" for fabric.....called repurposing.....and sometimes one can find them on sale at box stores.....